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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29744868">A Lonely Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsintheClouds/pseuds/ShadowsintheClouds'>ShadowsintheClouds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Short Marvel Fics and gifts [46]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, DO NOT COPY, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecure Tony Stark, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mpreg, Omega Tony Stark, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, tony stark deserves love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:49:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29744868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsintheClouds/pseuds/ShadowsintheClouds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony had always been insecure about his standing as an Omega. His father had beaten so many lessons into him, including the lesson that Tony was bad and would never have good things happen to him. Steve Rogers was one of those good things. So, after sharing a heat and finding out some surprising news, Tony knows that he can't keep the little bit of happiness he's found. </p><p>It's up to Steve to show him different.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Short Marvel Fics and gifts [46]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1173833</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>409</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Lonely Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey, there guys, I was inspired by howtohold’s fic <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23273491%C2%A0">“Baby, Ignore Me (Since You Don't Need Me Anymore)”</a>  Now while I love stuckony, I decided to give this a pure stony twist. I hope you like this one. -Shadows</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> Tony had always had a crush on Steve Rogers. Even when he hated the man for making his own father hate his son, he still had a crush on Steve Rogers. He was the Alpha of Alphas. He was smart, kind, actually helped Omegas. Not to mention that he was absolutely gorgeous. </p><p>So when Tony was about to go into heat six months after the other Avengers moved into the tower, and Steve offered to help, Tony didn’t say no. After all, Steve was being a gentleman and Tony wasn’t going to pass up on this opportunity. Maybe he was a masochist. </p><p>There was also the fact that despite sleeping around quite a bit in the past, Tony had never shared his heat with somebody else before.</p><p>His heat was absolutely amazing. Steve had been attentive and caring. Tony had never felt so good during his heat before. For the first time ever, Tony felt safe and satisfied. It was an amazing feeling. </p><p>But the thing was, after Tony’s heat broke and he’d passed out from exhaustion, Steve didn’t leave. When Tony woke up the Alpha was there with water and snacks. Naturally, Tony thanked him and the two parted ways a few hours after that.</p><p>And that should have been the end of it. Steve would go back to tolerating Tony and Tony would go back to not socializing with the team and hiding in his lab. Steve had only offered to help because he wanted to be a gentleman anyway. And sure, very frequently, Steve would take Tony out for dinner or a movie (and often kiss his cheeks), but he was just being nice. Tony could have said no and that would have been the end of it. </p><p>He should have said no. </p><p>Three weeks after sharing his heat with Steve, Tony started to feel sick. He was throwing up often and he felt dizzy. That… that wasn’t good. Initially Tony just thought it was a stomach bug or food poisoning from Clint’s cooking. But when it didn’t go away Tony knew that there was a problem. </p><p>He started by asking JARVIS to scan him and finished with a pregnancy test. Tony had absolutely no idea what to do as he looked down at the little pink plus sign. There were tears in his eyes as he thought about the implications of what had just happened. Apparently, super soldier sperm was stronger than condoms. </p><p>Tony sat on the ground of his lab bathroom for a long time, just thinking. He was pregnant. He was pregnant with Steve Roger’s baby. On one hand, Tony was happy. He’d sort of always wanted kids of his own. Sure, his own father had been a monumental piece of shit, but Tony liked kids. He liked to go to hospitals in his armour to greet the kids there. He loved holding babies. He found it soothing. </p><p>But on the other hand, Tony was terrified. He was terrified because he and Steve weren’t even together. He was terrified because he didn’t even know if Steve wanted a baby. This, this was life-changing. This was a big deal and Tony didn’t know what to do. Well, Tony knew that he had to tell Steve. It would be pretty impossible to keep a baby secret. So, by some miracle, Tony bucked up the courage to go knock on Steve’s bedroom door. </p><p>“Hey, Tony. is everything alright?” asked Steve as he opened the door and got a good look at Tony’s exhausted face. </p><p>“Can we… Can we talk?” asked Tony and Steve nodded and let him into the room. </p><p>Steve lead Tony over to the plush cream couch by the window. There were small splatters of paint and pastels covering the cushions and there were some blank canvases sitting in the corner. The space looked lived in and Tony was happy about that. It was such a stark contrast to his own room. Tony hardly spent time in his, with the exception of his heat. Plus, Tony put a lot of work into designing the Avenger’s rooms. He was glad they liked them. </p><p>“What’s on your mind?” asked Steve as he saw Tony’s hands fidgeting. Tony also wasn’t looking at him and that was a huge red flag that something was wrong. The nervous energy that permeated the room was also a big giveaway. </p><p>“Look Cap, I’ll cut right to the chase because this is a big deal and I have absolutely no idea who you’ll respond.” started Tony as he picked at the skin around his nails. </p><p>“Tony, whatever’s wrong we can figure it out. We’ll be fine.” soothed Steve but Tony still refused to look him in the eye. Tony stayed silent for a moment longer before he took a deep breath and spoke once more. </p><p>“I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant with your baby and I’m keeping it.” rushed out Tony and then the room was silent once more. </p><p>Steve sat there in shock as he absorbed the news. Tony was pregnant. Tony was pregnant with his baby. Well, that certainly explained why Tony looked so nervous. And yes, this was coming as a huge shock. They had only shared one heat together and now they were going to have a baby. </p><p>“Say something. Please say something.” barked out Tony as he sat there shaking. </p><p>That was when Tony finally found the courage to look up at Steve. Steve, who was sitting there with tears in his eyes with a big, dopey smile on his face. Steve, who practically launched himself at Tony and began hugging him close with a protective hand over Tony’s lower abdomen. Tony allowed himself to melt into the hug a bit. Yes, he was still terrified about everything going on, but he still liked hugs. He hardly ever got hugs. </p><p>“So I uh… I take it this is good news?” asked Tony as Steve held him closer. Steve just nodded and held Tony close while tears soaked Tony’s shoulder. </p><p>After that news came out, Steve began to hover around Tony… a lot. Where Tony was, Steve was often seen tailing close behind. Steve even moved into Tony’s room. That was when the comments started surrounding their relationship. Tony knew in his heart that there was no relationship there. Steve just wanted to be close to protect the baby. It was in his instincts.                  </p><p>It was around the three-month mark when Tony and Steve told everyone about the baby. Tony had been going to appointments to make sure that everything was alright, and once they knew it was safe to do so, Steve told everyone. Well, everyone bar for Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy. Tony told them himself. They were all excited about the baby and it took everything Tony had to plaster on a smile and enjoy the excitement. Or at least pretend to.    </p><p>So pretty much everyone was excited about the baby. The team was supportive and talked a lot about the baby to Steve. Tony mostly just existed and smiled when he wasn’t throwing up or feeling achy. Sometimes he wished that the others would talk to him. But, as Tony’s hormones spiked and got all wonky, so did his own insecurities. </p><p>There was always talk about the baby. Baby this and baby that. Steve hardly ever shut up about the baby. He also had a hand on Tony’s ever-growing bump whenever he could. So, with the way Tony’s non-existent self-esteem worked, it was no wonder that Tony came to the wrong conclusion about what was going on.  </p><p>Somehow, Tony had gotten it into his head that he was going to have to give up the baby to Steve once they were born. Tony was reckless and had had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past. Sure, he’d been sober for a few years now, but why should Steve trust him with the baby? Tony was bad. He wasn’t good. Howard had told him that so many times. Same with Stane and everyone else. He wasn’t going to be a good parent. </p><p>So, with those horrible, completely untrue facts in his head, Tony resolved to not get attached to the baby. This was Steve’s baby. Not his. </p><p>Not his.  </p><p>When Tony was five months along he had another ultrasound to determine the gender of the baby. Personally, Tony thought that the over gendering of things, especially children’s things, was stupid and he didn’t care if the baby was a boy or a girl. But Steve was excited so Tony went along with it. Plus they wouldn’t find out the secondary gender until birth so a little excitement over something so mundane was alright. </p><p>“Congratulations! It’s a baby boy!” announced the ultrasound technician and Tony watched as Steve cheered and cried over the fact that he was going to have a healthy son. Tony knew that Steve had been worried that the baby would pick up all his old ailments and illnesses, but so far the baby was perfectly healthy. </p><p>At the news that it was a boy, Steve got this goofy grin on his face and pretty much told everyone they knew the second they got back to the tower. Tony managed to excuse himself from the excitement that had permeated the tower, citing feeling a little light-headed. </p><p>Tony wasn’t surprised anymore when Steve showed up not long after Tony had retired to the bedroom and began mother henning. </p><p>As Tony entered his sixth month of pregnancy, his ever-growing discomfort and insecurity over the entire situation were not helped by Steve continuously waiting to figure out a name for his baby. </p><p>Not Tony’s baby. Tony wasn’t good enough for this baby to be his. He couldn’t grow attached.    </p><p>“Come on Tony, surely there’s a name that you like.” fretted Steve one afternoon. The two were sitting in Tony’s lab. Tony was on the couch working on some designs while Steve read through a baby naming book.   </p><p>“Cap, I named my bots DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers. Do you really think I’m cut out to name a baby? No. I’m absolutely not! This is your call.” Spoke Tony. He tried to keep his tone light and joking so as not to alert Steve to the real reason he didn’t want to name the baby. Steve was just asking as a courtesy after all.   </p><p>“Alright, fine. How about Harley? Harley Joseph Stark-Rogers?” asked Steve and Tony looked over at him with wide eyes. Stark-Rogers? Now that wasn’t right. The baby wasn’t going to be Tony’s so why on Earth would he have Tony’s last name. Tony had to pull the plug on that and quickly. </p><p>“Do you really want the poor kid to be saddled with the Stark name? You really should go with just your last name,” spoke Tony as he worked harder than ever to keep his voice from wavering. </p><p>“But… But he’s you kid too,” said Steve, his voice sounding small and slightly distant. Tony wasn’t going to dig into that. Nope. not at all. </p><p>“Nah, just go with Rogers. It sounds better anyway,” said Tony and Steve looked away from him.</p><p>Steve never brought up the name of the baby again around Tony.</p><p>Things were a little weird between Tony and Steve for a few days after the baby name conversation. Tony didn’t know what was going on. Not only was Steve hovering more, but he was also showering Tony in gifts, praise, and gushy nicknames. Tony was called sweetheart, doll, sweet thing, baby, sugar, pretty much every name in the book. Tony didn’t know how he was supposed to feel about this. Sure, the treatment made him blush and his tummy flutter, but Tony was confused. </p><p>Steve was probably just nice. Well, he was always nice. He hoped that Steve would find a nice Omega to settle down with after the baby was born. He deserved someone good. Someone who wasn’t Tony.</p><p>Tony knew that he wouldn’t find anyone of his own. </p><p>As Tony’s pregnancy progressed and he grew closer and closer to his due date, Steve grew more and more protective. Tony chalked it up to Steve’s own instincts and hormones. He wouldn’t let any Alphas near Tony and the baby. He mostly kept Tony sequestered to their room. And it was their room at this point. They’d been sharing a bed for months now. </p><p>So, while sequestered away, Tony found ways to keep his mind occupied when Steve was bundling him up to watch a movie together or to give Tony a back rub. Tony was never going to complain about the back rubs. Steve’s hands were heaven. </p><p>Steve got extremely touchy towards the end of Tony’s pregnancy. He was always holding Tony close and giving him little kisses. It made Tony’s heartache to know that he couldn’t keep this. He couldn’t keep Steve. He couldn’t keep the baby. Tony was bad. He wasn’t a good Omega. He couldn’t keep nice things. The thought of losing all of this kept Tony up most nights as he tried to keep the tears from his eyes.  </p><p>Tony went into labour in the middle of the night. He’d been feeling uncomfortable the entire day and he’d reached his breaking point around midnight when it finally clicked in for him that he was in labour. </p><p>“Sweetheart? Are you alright?” worried Steve as he sat next to Tony. Tony had his eyes screwed shut as he tried to breathe through the contraction. </p><p>“Steve… I’m pretty sure I’m in labour.” gasped Tony as he reached out and took Steve’s hand in a death grip. He needed the grounding touch. </p><p>“Oh shit!” </p><p>Steve was a small storm as he ran around the room gathering the things that they may need before he was yelling at JARVIS to wake up Natasha so that she could drive them to the hospital. Once Natasha responded, Steve scooped Tony into his arms and carried him to the waiting car where Natasha would meet them. </p><p>“Hey, hey doll, just breathe. That’s it. Just breathe.” soothed Steve as he tried his best to keep Tony calm as they sped off towards the hospital. </p><p>“If I wasn’t breathing I’d be dead.” snarked Tony as he huffed through another contraction. </p><p>Once they got to the hospital Steve was screaming for help. Soon enough Tony was surrounded by doctors while Steve hovered at his side. Now normally Tony would be pretty pissed off about being smothered by medical professionals, but he was in pain and generally not feeling great about the prospect of giving birth but not being able to keep the baby for his own. After this was all over, Tony was going to leave the team. He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle being around any of them after this. Not when he couldn’t keep his own baby. </p><p>“You’re doing so well Sweetheart. Just hang in there.” soothed Steve once Tony had been situated in his hospital bed and had been checked over by the doctors and nurses. He was progressing pretty fast and they were pretty sure that the baby would be there by morning. </p><p>“Just think, in a few more hours we’ll have our little Harley.” smiled Steve as he rested a hand against Tony’s belly while leaning down to give Tony a kiss. Steve had been doing that a lot. Kissing Tony. Tony didn’t know what to think of that. The kisses weren’t out of love. Tony knew that he was unlovable. Maybe that’s just how Steve showed affection. But then again, he never kissed any of the other Avengers. </p><p>Hours later, when it was finally time for Tony to push, Tony knew that something was wrong. He felt absolutely horrible. His vision kept blacking out and he was very quickly losing energy. He didn’t even have the energy to shout out in pain because pushing a baby out was very painful. </p><p>“You’re doing so well, doll. Just hang in there. Just hold on for me.” worried Steve as he saw Tony starting to lose his focus and bearings. </p><p>Not too long after, Tony gave one final push and baby Harley was born wet and screaming. Tony felt his vision blackout as there was a flurry of shouting around him. Steve was screaming his name and Harley was crying. </p><p>Tony passed out knowing that at least Harley was safe and would have Steve to love him. </p><p>Tony awoke three days later to the irritating sound of a heart monitor. It took a little bit for Tony to finally manage to blink his eyes open, but when he finally did he was met with Steve holding his hand tightly while tears pooled in his own eyes. </p><p>“Steve?” rasped Tony and Steve smiled at him. </p><p>“Hey, Sweetheart. Glad to see you awake. We’ve been worried about you.” soothed Steve as a tear rolled down his cheeks. That left Tony a bit confused. Had something bad happened? </p><p>“Harley?” asked Tony and Steve smiled sadly at him.</p><p>“He’s fine Tony. He’s beautiful. He’s just down for a nap. It’s you I’m worried about.” fretted Steve and Tony was left more confused. </p><p>“Why?” asked Tony and more tears fell from Steve’s eyes.    </p><p>“You… you lost a lot of blood. Your heart and your body couldn’t handle giving birth. Your… your heart stopped twice Tony. Twice! I thought I was going to lose you!”  cried Steve and Tony frowned. Why was Steve so worried about him? Harley was fine so why was he worried about Tony?   </p><p>“I’m ok…” sighed Tony. He was feeling tired. “Go… go be with Harley. Needs his dad.” </p><p>Tony fell back asleep pretty quickly after that.         </p><p>When Tony woke up again hours later it was to the sound of crying and Steve singing. Harley must have woken up wanting something. Tony just laid there in bed watching Steve with the baby. He was good with Harley. Tony knew he would be. Steve was made to be a good dad. Tony wasn’t. </p><p>“Hey, you’re up. You should have said something Tony.” smiled Steve once he spotted that Tony was up. He walked over with Harley in his arms. That was when Tony started to feel nervous.  </p><p>“Harley’s been crying for you. Here, why don’t you hold your son.” </p><p>Tony instantly began to panic. He couldn’t hold the baby! No! He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t grow attached. He couldn’t expose himself to such an innocent life. Tony’s hands began shaking as he crossed his arms and moved to the back of the bed to get away from Steve’s outstretched arms.  </p><p>“Tony?” worried Steve and Tony shook his head. </p><p>“I… I can’t! No! Can’t hold him! Please don’t make me. Please stop lying. Not my son! Not mine. Can’t get attached.” cried Tony as his panic increased and his breathing became unsteady. </p><p>“Tony? Why won’t you hold him? Why don’t you want to get attached? You said you wanted him so why won’t you hold him?” pressed Steve. He could tell that something was wrong but he was also feeling a bit upset.  </p><p>“I want him more than everything, but he’s not mine. He’s yours. I’m bad. I… I can’t be good for him Steve. I can’t.” panicked Tony as tears rolled down his cheeks. His hormones were going crazy and Tony wasn’t able to get his emotions back under control. He tried but all he got were more tears.</p><p>That was when something snapped into place for Steve. For months Tony had been acting strange. He didn’t want to talk about the baby. He didn’t help with any of Harley’s room set up. Hell, he’d told Steve not to give Harley his own last name and to just stick with Rogers as a last name. And the fact that Tony was stressing about trying not to get attached to the baby? Did Tony think that Steve was just going to take Harley and leave?! Not, that was unacceptable! Steve had to fix this.  </p><p>“Tony, doll. Of course, Harley is yours. He’s both of ours.” soothed Steve as he went to go set Harley back down in his bassinet.  </p><p>“STOP! Just stop it! Stop lying to me! He’s not mine. He’s yours. I’m not good enough to have a baby. I’m not good enough for a family.” Cried Tony as he curled in on himself. </p><p>“Oh Tony.” sighed Steve. </p><p>Steve crawled onto the bed and pulled Tony into his arms. The Omega bawled even harder and Steve rocked him back and forth. Steve felt lost for words as he held Tony in his arms. Where had he gone so wrong? What had he done to make Tony so upset that he was scared to hold his own baby for fear of getting attached? TO HIS OWN BABY! </p><p>“Shh. Shh sugar. You’re alright. I’ve got you.” spoke Steve as he tried to soothe the frantic Omega. </p><p>It took a while to calm Tony down. Thankfully, Harley just slept the whole time and they weren’t interrupted by doctors. No doubt they would soon but for now, it was just the two of them. The entire time Steve just helped Tony in his arms and kept him safe and warm. But eventually, Tony did calm down and they needed to talk. </p><p>“What’s going on in that head of yours Tony?” asked Steve as he used a free hand to tilt up Tony’s chin so that they could look at each other. Tony’s eyes were swimming with tears and it broke Steve’s heart. </p><p>“I can’t keep my baby.” whispered Tony and Steve looked confused. </p><p>“Why can’t you keep him, Tony?” Pressed Steve. He needed answers. </p><p>“I’m not good. He’s not mine to keep. He’s yours. I’m not good for him. He’s yours. I can’t… I can’t have either of you. Want that so bad... I’m not good. I’m not…” Tears were falling once more from Tony’s eyes and Steve felt his heart break. Where on Earth did Tony get these ideas about himself?      </p><p>“Tony…” started Steve as he pulled Tony closer, but Tony was beginning to sob again. </p><p>“We’re not even mated! I’m nothing. I’m not good!” </p><p>“God Tony. No! You are so good. You’re amazing. You’re amazing and I love you so much.” </p><p>“You’re just saying that.” mumbled Tony as he tried to hide in Steve’s arms. </p><p>“No Tony, I’m not. I thought you knew that. We’ve… we’ve been going out on dates for months. I’ve kissed you awake every morning. You’re everything to me Sweet thing.” </p><p>“Thought you were just being nice for the baby.” </p><p>“Tony, No! No. I love you. I love you and I love Harley. We’re a family.” spoke Steve as his voice fell. “I love you Tony Stark.” </p><p>Tony was crying again and so was Steve. Steve just held Tony and prayed that he would be able to fix this.</p><p>They were interrupted when one of the nurses came into the room. She checked Tony over to make sure he was alright before she gave him some more medication. She didn’t ask questions about the tears in both Tony and Steve’s eyes. Once she left, Steve checked on Harley and then crawled into bed with Tony and held him close. Tony melted into the touch. He never said it, but Tony loved to be held. Hell, he loved to be touched. He hadn’t received nearly enough positive touch.  </p><p>“I’m not leaving you, Tony. I love you so much. You mean everything to me. I’m not letting you go. You’re amazing Tony. You’re so good. You’re going to be an amazing parent. He’s yours, Tony. I gave him your last name you know.” Spoke Steve as he held Tony in his arms. Tony looked up at Steve incredulously and Steve leant down to kiss his forehead.</p><p>“I had a feeling that something was wrong when you said you didn’t want Harley to have your last name. I was hoping that you’d say something and I didn’t want to push you. It really didn’t seem right that Harley didn’t have your name so when I was given the birth certificate I put Stark-Rogers. He’s yours too Tony. I just wish I’d been better for you.”</p><p>It was silent for a few moments as Steve held Tony in his arms. The silence stretched on for eons as the two sat there. The only sounds were the beeping of various machines and baby Harley snoring away in his cot. The entire time Tony just laid there in Steve’s arms and allowed himself a moment of comfort.</p><p>While they laid there, Tony got to thinking. He trusted Steve. Trusted him with his life. Steve was smart and sweet and a damn good Alpha. He trusted him. And if what Steve said was true, then Tony knew he could trust Steve with some of his darkest secrets. What’s the worst that could happen?      </p><p>“It was Howard.” Whispered Tony, breaking the silence.  </p><p>“Sorry?” frowned Steve.</p><p>“It was Howard and Stane. They did… they did bad things. S’why I’m fucked up.”</p><p>It took a little bit of pressing, but eventually Tony told Steve why he thought the things he did and why he was the way he way. The stories Tony told painted a horrific picture of abuse and gaslighting done by some of the people Tony was closest to. Steve’s heart broke as he listened. He let Tony pour his heart out while he offered his support.</p><p>By the end, Tony was exhausted and Steve felt horrible.  </p><p>“You’re safe not Tony. You’re safe. I’ve got you. I’ve got you now. I’m never gonna let anybody hurt you like that again. You’re mine now. Gotta keep my Omega safe.”</p><p>The two fell asleep in each other's arms until Harley woke up demanding food.  </p><p>It took Tony three whole days after that conversation before Tony even considered trying to hold Harley. He was so scared after everything that had happened. Tony cried the first time he held his son. He was shaking so badly that Steve had to help support the baby. That became a bit of a trend. For weeks Tony refused to hold Harley without Steve’s help. Steve had just told everyone that Tony wasn’t doing so great after the birth. He wasn’t going to betray Tony’s trust by telling everyone what had happened. </p><p>Tony was thankful for that. </p><p>Eventually, after some therapy appointments that Steve made Tony go to, he was holding Harley on his own. He still kept Steve close by. He didn’t quite trust himself with the baby yet. But this was a step. </p><p>Steve made sure to remind Tony every single day that he was loved and that he was good. He gave Tony cuddles and massages and just generally showered him with affection. Steve loved Tony. He wasn’t going to go anywhere.     </p><p>It would be a long time before Tony was anywhere ok again, but that was alright. Steve was there to help. He was there to remind Tony that he was good and deserved his love. That he deserved this family they’d made. But, years later, Tony was finally happy. He had a mate who loved him and an amazing kid. He was happy. </p><p>And he deserved it.</p>
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